Dhatri Reddy

My first UPSC interview in 2019, Satyavati Ma'am as board chairman, afternoon slot.  Chairwoman (Satyavati ma'am): What is the meaning of 'Dhatri' (my name)? Do you know who in our mythology is known as the child of the Earth? What was your work in Deustche bank? Did you work on preparing prospectus? Which clients have you worked on? What kind of nukkad did you perform? Did you present solutions too? What is Clinton Global Fellowship? (mentioned in my DAF) What is the NGO you founded? Who were its members? What is NDT (in metallurgy)? M1: The US has become self-sufficient in its fuel requirements, how? What do you know about shale gas - how to extract? What materials can help in dealing with environmental degradation? Do you suggest any changes we need to make in UPSC syllabus? M2: What is the physiological process of poison? Can you say good morning in Sanskrit? What materials are used in agri sensors? Opinion on Syria issue. Should we allow...

PRELIMS - Enough can't be said about this stage of the exam. For some it is a cakewalk and for others it turns into the bane of their lives. I myself faced a hiccup here that was deeply demotivating. But post that, I did spend an insane amount of time making sure prelims wouldn't be a hindrance. Also, a huge disclaimer before I share my approach - you don't need to do all of this. In fact, I know people who have cleared prelims without having done a fraction of this. But if you are not a 100% sure that you can get past prelims easily, then I suggest you work on it till you feel confident enough. Because a year wasted due to failure in prelims is just the worst thing that can happen to you in this exam (majorly because of the psychological effect that it can have). My exhaustive approach: Reading list : First off, finish up the must read standard books such as Laxmikant, NCERTs, Spectrum, Shankar IAS. Make notes wherever necessary. Test series : I gave close to 80 te...